According to the book Gangs by Ross Kemp, New Zealand has more gangs per head than any other country in the world,[3] with about seventy major gangs and over 4,000 patched members[4] in a population of 4 million people.

According to sociologist Jarrod Gilbert, New Zealand has had youth and street gangs since the 1950s.[5] By the 1960s, there were four established gangs, Black Power, Mongrel Mob, Head Hunters and Stormtroopers, they had friends in high places with prime minister Rob Muldoon partying at a Black Power pad in 1976 and Wellington Mayor Michael Fowler stumping bail for seven of them after an altercation with the Mongrel Mob.[6] However organised crime gangs such as those which currently dominate the New Zealand scene mostly date from the 1970s. 'Gangsta' style gangs have been a presence in New Zealand since the early 1990s but individual gangs of this type are typically short lived.[1] New Zealand gangs have generally been heavily influenced by their American counterparts. Although Black Power takes its name from the black liberation movement of the same name, in many ways it and similar gangs are much more akin to white American motorcycle gangs such as the Hell's Angels. Since the early 1990s newer gangs have primarily been influenced by African American street gangs such as the Crips and Bloods.[5]

Gang members account for a rapidly increasing proportion of incarcerations in New Zealand. A New Zealand Ministry of Justice study showed that in 1991 just under 80% of prison inmates had no gang history, and just over 90% had no current gang membership. Of the prison population, 4% were members of the Mongrel Mob and 4.3% former members, while 3.6% were current and 3.2% former members of Black Power. No other gang had more than one percent of the prison population.[7] A similar study in 2003 showed that 11.3% of prison inmates were gang members. Of these, 35% were Mongrel Mob and 33% Black Power, with no other individual gang having more than 5% of the imprisoned gang population.[8] As of April 2013, gang members and affiliates account for over 30% of inmates, with over 10% of New Zealand prisoners being Mongrel Mob members.[9]

Black Power was formed in the late 1960s in Wellington as the Black Bulls,[10] and its membership is primarily Māori and Pacific Islander. It has been involved with various kinds of crime, particularly drug dealing. Its symbol is the clenched fist of the American black power movement, and their colours are blue and black.

The Head Hunters motorcycle club is one of the fastest growing motorcycle clubs in the country. It has chapters in West Auckland, Wellsford, Northland and most recently Wellington. Its beginning is said to go back to 1967 and has been historically tied to West Auckland although it maintains a presence in Ellerslie through a senior member.[11] In late 2010 members of the Sinn Fein motorcycle club in Wellington have patched over to become part of the Head Hunters motorcycle club.[12]

The King Cobras are a Central Auckland based gang[13] with its origins born out of the Polynesian Panthers in the early 1970s whose ranks are predominantly Polynesian but not exclusive of others. Their reputed turf is reported to stretch from the Downtown area to Mangere and Papatoetoe.[14] The Cobras also have links and associations with activity in the North Shore,[15] and an established presence as far South as the Hutt Valley and the Wellington area.[16] In 2009 it was reported that members of the gang had been involved in a multimillion dollar methamphetamine drug ring organised within Paremoremo Prison,and previosuly ran another large drug ring along with the Head Hunters.[17] The Cobras maintained a headquarters in Ponsonby up until August 2011 as they are reported to be shifting premises.[13][18]

The Highway 61 motorcycle club was founded in 1968 and was the largest outlaw motorcycle club in New Zealand during the 1980s, 90s up until 2010.[24] It has chapters in Auckland, Hastings, Rotorua, Northland, Wellington and Christchurch, and by 2008 had expanded into Brisbane and the Gold Coast in eastern Australia.[25] They are mainly European and Maori in descent.[citation needed]

The Mongrel Mob was formed and organised in Hastings about 1968 and, like its Black Power rivals, is primarily Māori and Pacific Islander. The gang has been active in organised crime and has been involved in several murders. Its symbol is a bulldog wearing a GermanStahlhelm helmet, and the gang makes use of other Nazi imagery. Their colours are red and black. The Mongrel Mob is currently the largest gang in New Zealand.[26]

In 2010 members of the Australian motorcycle club the Rebels have announced they will be establishing a presence in New Zealand in 2011. Rebels MC members have been sighted wearing their patches in various places throughout the North Island in early 2011.[28]

The Tribesmen have a feeder youth street gang called Killer Beez (sometimes Killer Bees, Killabeez, or KBZ),[33] possibly a reference to the hip hop group Killa Beez, a name given to Wu-Tang Clan affiliates who also wear yellow and black.[34] Killer Beez was headed by Josh Masters, formerly a vice-president of the Tribesmen gang. Masters was one of 44 people from both gangs arrested in a police swoop in May 2008. In total 60 Killer Beez were arrested an operation[35] which involved 110,000 intercepted messages.[36] Charges included supplying methamphetamine, conspiracy to supply methamphetamine and money laundering. Masters plead guilty but is currently (October 2011) fighting to have that overturned.[37][38]

In 2011 Vila Lemanu was the most senior Killer Beez member not in prison, he was on the run for several months[39] before having his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal and a new trial ordered.[40]

The Red Devils have a presence in Mt Eden and Nelson and in 2012 were involved in the high-profile collapse of an anti-drug operation. Prosecution against 21 people was halted due to a '"gross abuse of process" by police'[43][44]

Some politicians have called for gang patches to be made illegal.[58][59][60]

In 2009 the Wanganui District Council voted to ban gang patches, but it was overturned following a judicial review instigated by the Hells Angels.[61] The council tried again in 2011, this time restricting the ban to just the central business district, malls and parks.[62]

A law banning gang patches from government and public buildings was introduced in 2012 by National MP Todd McClay.[63] Police welcomed the law,[64] but others said it was racist against Maori.[65]

^"Rotorua man jailed for bar robbery". nzherald.co.nz. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2011. A Rotorua man was jailed for more than seven years today for his role in the armed robbery of a bar two years ago.

^Laxon, Andrew (2 July 2011). "Out in force on the mean streets". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 8 October 2011. But in 2008 police smashed both gangs wide open with a six-month cannabis and methamphetamine sting operation that arrested 60 Killer Beez members and put many of the gang's leaders in jail.

^Stickley, Tony (2011). "Police bugs track 110,000 gang messages". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 8 October 2011. Police intercepted more than 110,000 phone and text messages between the Killer Beez and Tribesmen gang members during a major three-month drug operation in South Auckland and the Waikato.

^Fox, Michael (7 October 2011). "Killer Beez boss on the run". Stuff. Retrieved 9 October 2011. Constable Louis Solia of Otara police said Lemanu was probably the most senior Killer Beez member on the street and warned he should not be approached.